Chicago Travelsgiving

To say I’ve been bad at blogging this year would be a gross understatement.

I feel like most of my friends have stopped blogging though, so I have to admit that I don’t feel too bad about it. The good news for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting a new post (read: my mom) is that I finally have something cool enough that I want to share.

This Thanksgiving, I spent the break from work exploring Chicago with my roommate Hayley. It was a totally random, spur of the moment decision. We were sitting on the couch a couple of months ago when we started talking about how we had never been there before. Less than 24 hours later, we booked a place to stay in the windy city on Airbnb. We really had no reason to go other than it sounding like a great adventure. Traveling is pretty much my most favorite thing ever, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from my blog if you’ve ever looked at it before. The only thing that gets in the way is a shortage of vacation days… somehow I seem to burn through those way to quickly.

Without further adieu, here is the trip in photos. It’s ok if you admit you only wanted to see pictures. Hayley got a new camera and brought it with her, so there are some pretty great ones. Unless the picture is of Hayley, it was most likely taken by her (the not-as-great-quality ones are from my phone). I promise she let me steal her work.



Started out the day with a nice Thanksgiving parade and cute Christmas market



The contrast between the blue of the sky and the blue of Lake Michigan was ridiculously captivating. Totally worth the Thanksgiving Day cold. Don’t worry, we went to a warm restaurant right after this. That night we went to a hilarious Second City show and enjoyed all-you-can-drink hot chocolate.



We spent most of Friday getting lost in the Art Institute of Chicago before eating pizza and checking out the night view at the top of the Sear’s Tower (fine, I guess it’s called the Willis Tower now).




We covered a lot of ground Saturday walking along the river, checking out an almost-abandoned Navy Pier (where Hayley’s hair cooperated, but mine was going insane), visiting the Zoo and surrounding park, stopping by the Christmas market again for more treats, hanging out around the cool outdoor art displays and watching ice skaters.



And because Hayley specifically said she went to Chicago to recreate Kanye videos, here is this gem with a “behind the scenes” shot.

On Sunday, we went back home to the real world. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well! Now on to counting the days until Christmas…

Middle of Nowhere Sunsets

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My sister and her roommate Heather and I joined Kasey (love her) and Sarah Overson at their grandparents in St. George for a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving. In case two “wonderful”s weren’t enough, let me assure you it was wonderful. Perfect, actually. There were comfy couches, an endless supply of tasty food, a trip to see Tangled (fabulous), and lots and lots of love.

During the drive to and from St. George we saw some incredibly beautiful sunsets. On the way back it was just too beautiful to resist, so we stopped at the nearest rest stop and took these. Where’s the fun in life if you don’t take the time to stop and enjoy the scenery before you pass it by?

The Catch:

The Dance:

The Pose:

The Love:

Here’s some Thanksgiving pictures too. I don’t want to shortchange the wonderfulness! Love Kasey and Sarah and their grandparents!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Real P-Town (provo doesn't count)

During Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to go home to Portland and it was glorious. I kind of really, really wish that I was still there. Mostly because that would mean I wouldn't have any more homework looming over me.

As I've said before, this week has been really crazy. It's actually been a great week and I've been able to do a lot of things I've loved, but there's always been the pressure of everything else I should be doing.

Things I haven't had time to do yet:

• Unpack my suitcase. I'm seriously considering bringing it home exactly the way it exists now.
• Buy milk. Or any other groceries for that matter.
• Write the last ten pages of that dreaded 25-page law paper.
• Read the stack of newspapers that I bring home every day.
• Watch the series finale of Monk. I need to know what happened to Trudy!
• Eat my last cookie. I think I can take care of that one right now, though.

The list goes on from there (with some more serious things) but I'm guessing it wouldn't be all that entertaining for you if I posted everything. It might even stress you out, which would definitely not be fun for you. And I really would like for you to continue reading my blog.

On a happier note, here are some pictures that I took while I was in Portland (plus two from my mom). They're all places I love and would much rather be than in my room doing homework. Mainly, Saturday Market (which we decided was an unofficial dog show. I only took pictures of a few breeds), Old Town Pizza (I could write an entire post about this place and probably will at some point) and anything else I happened on between there and our car.

Ok, a quick note. This picture is kind of a tradition. We have one with the statue from downtown every year. We'd always go to see Santa at Meier & Frank downtown (he's the real one, I swear) where they had an entire floor designated as Santa Land with a tram running on the ceiling and everything. After that we'd go take a picture with the Umbrella Man, who is actually Mr. Meier, which is a little known fact (Meier & Frank was a Portland company). If I'm ambitious when I'm at home for the break maybe I'll try and post all of them on here in order. They're pretty funny. Ok now we can move on.

Ok, another quick note. This is actually soap. Now you can proceed.